What Is a Weight Loss Coach?

A weight loss coach helps people who want to become slimmer achieve their goals through healthy eating and regular exercise. In many cases, weight loss coaches are people who have lost weight, kept it off and want to help others do the same. Having achieved the goal that others want to also achieve adds a level of respect and appreciation for the weight loss coach. Losing weight by cutting calories and increasing exercise may be difficult for some people; working with a coach who may be tough on them but has achieved the goal may help them stick with it.

Being too tough on the people they coach, such as by pushing too many exercise repetitions or too few calories, is something weight loss coaches have to avoid. Effective coaches use healthy menu planning and make an exercise plan that is challenging, but won't cause the person they're coaching to give up. Being a good personal trainer and weight loss coach means having the ability to inspire and motivate others.

For example, a weight loss coach who sets reasonable expectations for his or her clients, but notices a client not wanting to try as much, will need to provide inspiration to help motivate the person to continue in the program. The coach may remind the client of how well he or she has done until that point and that giving up now won't get them to the weight loss goal. Weight loss takes commitment and coaches guide their clients into fulfilling their commitments.

Ideally, weight loss coaches should also be professional, certified nutritionists. Qualified nutritionists know that weight is only one small aspect of health and that having a balanced diet is far more important than being thin. A weight loss coach who is a nutritionist can recommend safe, healthy diets that help you lose weight while also ensuring that your nutritional needs are being met and that you’re maintaining a happy and fulfilling lifestyle within your dietary goals.

An effective coach can raise the clients' self esteem and give them a sense of empowerment to keep their commitment to losing weight. Through teaching techniques such as how to deal with emotional eating and a reluctance to exercise, clients of a weight loss coach can change their old attitudes and develop powerful new ones. For instance, a common change people make in order to lose weight is to see food not as a comfort, but as proper nutrition the body needs every day. The more in control a weight loss client feels in relation to choosing healthy foods and exercising regularly, the better able he or she will be in reaching goals.

Weight loss coaches may work for a fitness or health center or have their own business. They typically have private sessions with clients to plan and monitor their weight loss goals. Many coaches teach healthy eating basics and may provide clients with recipes. A weight loss coach usually guides a client in exercises such as cardio workouts. Cardiovascular exercise, such as brisk walking, running, swimming or cycling, increases oxygen throughout the body and gets the heart pumping while also burning fat and calories.